DIFFERENCE MAKERS: Tri-County Fire School marks 60 years
SMETHPORT — The Tri-County Volunteer Firemen’s Association Fire School celebrated its 60th anniversary this weekend in Smethport.
The highlight of the event was the groundbreaking ceremony for the Burn Building addition, held at noon Saturday. Fire School Chief Director Dan Burkhouse of Bradford Township was the master of ceremonies. He detailed efforts to keep the three-story burn building functional and in use, and the ongoing fundraising efforts to complete the project. The building was constructed in 1969 at a cost of $5,000 and has undergone several renovations and enhancements over the years with the last being in 2000. The new addition will cost $300,000 and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2026.
State Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, presented Tri-County Fire School with a citation recognizing the school for 60 years of training emergency responders. McKean County Commissioners Tom Kreiner, Marty Wilder and Carol Duffy were also present. McKean County ARPA Coordinator Dana Crisp also attended as she assisted in obtaining funds for the project. Lanny Layton, Butler County Community College Northwestern representative spoke about the fire school’s value in educating volunteer firemen in northwestern Pennsylvania. In all, more than 60 people attended the ceremony.
The first fire school was held Aug. 26 and 27, 1965, with 181 students and 13 instructors. Classes met in tents in a field on the fire school property as there were no classroom buildings. Early smoke training was done in a chicken coop and then a house. In 1967, a ladder tower was constructed out of four utility poles — and was used until 1989, when it was replaced with the steel tower that is still in use today. An oil tank fire prop was installed in 1967, and a tanker truck fire prop was installed in 1972. These two props are very important training tools and were replaced in 2015 and modified to use propane as their fuel for fires instead of crude oil and diesel fuel.
The first building was the office, built in 1967. The classroom building went up in 1987.
Attendance at the annual May fire school weekend continued to grow, drawing firemen from Pennsylvania and New York state to its classes. In 1973, attendance was 445; in 1980, attendance peaked at 800 students. Classrooms and the cafeteria at Smethport High School were used during this period. In the 1990s attendance started to decrease as the number of volunteer firefighters declined in Pennsylvania, and nationwide. Today, fire school is held on three weekends, in addition to the Essentials Class, and trains approximately 350 firefighters a year.
Classes held this weekend included Pump I, Forceable Entry, Basic Chainsaw Safety and Basic Search. The Chainsaw Safety and Basic Search classes were taught by staff from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Current officers and directors of Tri-County Fire School are President Jack Fowler of Johnsonburg; Vice President Ken Weidow of St. Marys; Secretary Cindy Burkhouse of Bradford Township; Treasurer Judy Larson of Lewis Run; Chief Director Burkhouse; and Assistant Chief Director Harry Lamielle of Bradford Township. Other members of the board are Tim Burkhouse of Bradford Township; and Mike Burgoon and Mike McConnell of Rew.
